Viral Korean Ad Perfectly Captures the Abuse Call Center Workers Experience
By Carl Samson
A Korean ad that aims to put an end to the abuse of customer service call center workers has been touching hearts on social media.
The three-minute ad, created by oil company GS Caltex and communication agency AdQUA Interactive, features three female employees who have experienced verbal abuse from customers during calls.
As told in the video, call center workers are vulnerable to sexual harassment — some customers intentionally moan in a sexual manner during consultations.
Some have no problem lashing out with abusive language at workers, such as “Can’t you f*cking understand me?” and “Just sit there and take calls all your life.”
A 40-year-old customer was particularly notorious, hitting a record of 163 insults to 25 employees in three months.
In an effort to stop the abuse, GS Caltex installed “Kind Words” ringback tones at General Motors Korea’s call center.
These ringback tones are recordings made by the employees’ family members, reminding customers that they will still be talking to human beings with emotions.
In the video, a little girl can be seen recording, “My mom, who I love the most in this world, will help you soon.”
Ten days after the campaign’s installment, the employees’ stress levels went down by a whopping 54.2%, while their feeling of being respected went up by 25%.
The customers’ kind words, meanwhile, increased by a respectable 8.3%.
Korean netizens commented:
“I always say ‘thank you’ at the end. Most of the agents do not just hang up. They reply, ‘No, thank you. I am more thankful. Thank you. Have a nice day.”
“It’s a really good idea to have this kind of education.”
“This is really touching.”
Watch the ad (via YouTube):
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